Monte Carlo simulations to determine coating uniformity in a Wurster fluidized bed coating process

This paper presents a coating model to predict the mass coating uniformity in a Wurster fluid bed coater using a Monte Carlo method. The velocity and voidage data obtained using imaging techniques on the same Wurster coater are used as inputs to the model. The semi-circular Wurster fluid bed used in this work was 22.9 cm in diameter. A batch of 3.6 kg tablets was used to conduct coating experiments and the coating weight gain distribution results were compared to predictions from the simulation. The model rigorously considers the sheltering effect of particles as they move in the spray zone. Good agreement was obtained when comparing the results with an analytical model. Spray shape and orientation of discretization were found to play an important role in predicting the coating uniformity. A simple spray experiment in a particle-free bed showed that the direction of spray material, in general, was vertically upward. Simulation results confirmed that an upward cylindrical spray model gives better agreement with experimental results compared to a solid cone spray model. Finally, the model was used to predict the changes in coating uniformity with bed operating conditions such as gas velocity and gap height. A wider coating distribution was found for the case with the lower gas velocity and gap height. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.